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New regulations on the designated driver industry set to come into effect in 2017 could mean there will soon be more drunk drivers on the road in Oshawa, driving company owners warn.

Sharon Carswell owner of DD4U, a designated driving company in Durham Region says many of the changes are unnecessary, and will make it harder to find drivers. City officials, meanwhile, say they’re only looking to make sure the services are safe to use.

“You better have more police out there because there will be a lot more people on the road who have been drinking,” Carswell said. “That scares me as an Oshawa city resident too.”

The new bylaw requires that drivers are at least 25 years old, are affiliated with a licensed designated driving broker, and have a “G” driver’s license. Drivers must also provide a Criminal Information Report with Vulnerable Sector Screening, a driver’s abstract (record), and a city-approved medical clearance letter. The medical clearance letter, says Carswell, is what sticks in the craw most.

Other frustrations?

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Designated drivers must get explicit permission to drive a client’s car.

Designated drivers can only drive people back who came to a site in that particular vehicle.

Drivers must see a current permit and insurance before they can get behind the wheel of a client’s car.

Donna Sabo, owner of designated driving service You Drink We Drive, said 90 per cent of her drivers have said they won’t file for the license.

“There are nights drivers only make $30 or $40 and they’re out there for 12 hours because it’s a slow night. I said to city council ‘Would any of you work for 12 hours for $30 or $40?’” Sabo said. “And they pay their own gas and then you want to put all these other regulations on them.”

Oshawa mayor John Henry said the idea to regulate the companies was actually brought to the city by a designated driving company a number of years ago. The goal of the regulations, said Henry, is to ensure that Oshawa residents “are safe getting home at the end of the day.”

“I have two young daughters and if they use a service I want to make sure that they’re safe and the only way to do that is to make sure that the drivers follow some simple rules,” Henry said. “One is that they have a driver’s license because right now we have no way of knowing that the person driving your car has a license. Two is that the person in that car is safe and you do that through a criminal reference check.”

Sabo said her drivers have told her filing for a license is “not really worth it” only to work a few days a week. Some drivers are even just brought on for special occasions like St. Patrick’s Day and New Year’s eve.

“With this new process if they only work two days a year they’re not going to pay to get a license to work two days,” Sabo said. “They won’t even make their money back.”

Carswell — who also runs the DD Alliance, an organization of six or seven designated driving companies —said it’s difficult to get drivers to begin with, and with the new regulations “they’re scaring the ones that are already doing it.” She said the types of people driving for her and the number of nights they work varies, from retirees working a few weekdays to people with full-time jobs working on their weekends “because they find it rewarding.”

She also said there have been no “major issues brought forward” in relation to designated driving services operating in that region.

“What is the big deal? They’re trying to make sure the streets are safer,” Carswell said.

With potentially no drivers to turn to, companies are being forced to consider leaving Oshawa entirely. Carswell said she knows of about eight companies operating in the region of Durham, which includes Oshawa, who are considering leaving.

“There’s probably eight companies we’re seeing at this time and on a given Saturday that’s probably 80 cars that will not be picking up as of January first,” Carswell said. “I’m not going to lose my company that I built over 15 years for one city. I’m not going to do it.”

Henry said he’s “sorry” about a potential loss of drivers but he believes new ones can be acquired.

“I think for those companies that are out there that capitalize on this and become registered designated driving services and follow all the rules, the opportunity to fill in those spaces will exist,” Henry said.

The bylaw — which deals with a number of other issues, including roof light requirements for designated driving support vehicles and actions the driver must take before operating a client’s vehicle — was called a “cash grab” by both Sabo and Carswell.

Companies also raised concerns with the bylaw’s requirement for an insurance policy. But that portion of the bylaw has been pushed back for the time being, because Henry said “there has been a challenge trying to find a policy that covers this.” This portion of the bylaw will be researched more and according to Henry, postponed until August or September of 2017.

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